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A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

National publication ranks university's offerings in top 25

By Matt Winston

Spectrum Volume 20 Issue 22 - February 26, 1998

Graduate programs at one of Virginia Tech's colleges and several academic
programs were recently recognized by U.S. News and World Report's 1998
"America's Best Graduate Schools" issue. According to the survey, the College
of Engineering ranked 25th among the 219 graduate engineering schools surveyed.
The magazine also ranked Tech's Vocational and Technical Education Program
sixth in the nation and ranked the Center for Public Administration and Policy
among the country's top 10.
The College of Engineering tied in the rankings with Harvard University, Ohio
State University, and Rice University. According to the survey, Tech
engineering was rated 19th in national reputation by professional engineers and
recruiters and 25th in reputation by engineering-school deans.
The Vocational and Technical Education program in the College of Human
Resources and Education is ranked sixth in the nation by education deans and
senior faculty members in the category of Education Specialties. The program
has consistently ranked in the top 10 for the past four years.
Janet M. Johnson, dean of the College of Human Resources and Education, said,
"Our faculty members are actively involved in national organizations, our
graduates are in leadership positions in education and industry, and our
external connections have given us the opportunity to do cutting-edge research.
This recognition is richly deserved."
The Vocational and Technical Education program is one of only 22 comprehensive
programs nation wide, and the only doctoral VTE program in Virginia.
Tech's Center for Public Administration and Policy (CPAP) ranks in the top 20
graduate programs in public affairs and in the top 10 for its program in public
administration and management. This reflects CPAP as the premiere public
affairs program in the state of Virginia.
CPAP, part of the university's College of Architecture and Urban Studies,
operates from two main locations: the Virginia Tech Campus in Blacksburg and
from the Northern Virginia Graduate Center in Falls Church.
This is the first year the magazine has ranked public-affairs programs in this
manner. The magazine grouped 248 programs that encompass the field of public
affairs. Deans, top administrators and senior faculty members were asked to
rate institutions based on public-affairs programs for scholarship, curriculum,
and the quality of its faculty members and graduate students on a five-point
scale.U.S. News ranks the nation's 191 graduate education programs that grant
Ph.D. or Ed.D. degrees using five attributes: faculty resources, research
activity, student selectivity, and two separate measures of reputation. The
graduate-school survey, published annually by the magazine since 1987, is
intended to provide prospective students with information about the nation's
top graduate programs in several disciplines.